


Dancing With Myself

by Anonymous



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: In which 'I'll kick my own ass' is a valid option, M/M, Multiverse, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), at least metaphorically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 04:26:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14729921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Being immortal gets boring, after a while. Of the few things that make being immortal *not* boring, the Grandmaster can say with some authority that this is one of them.





	Dancing With Myself

**Author's Note:**

> I don't normally go here but this idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I hope someone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The portal gets his attention, because glowing holes in the fabric of the universe generally do. It's different, anyway, and the arena just hasn't held his attention lately. Maybe that would make it time for something new, but he just hasn't been able to _think_ of anything new. All been done, and all that.

 

Then _he_ steps out of the portal, and that has his interest. Another En Dwi Gast. Did he also fashion himself as the Grandmaster, in his own home universe? He was certainly styled differently. Not an entirely bad look, to be sure, a peacock green smoky eye and a sheer gold over the top lip, hair a little different, a one-sleeved robe-- which is to say completely off the shoulder, nothing under-- which is a bold choice, it works. He does like the asymmetrical look. Black silk, which could have been sexy when combined with that little show of skin, but was coming off just a little boring instead, at least next to his own immaculately styled self.

 

"Oh, note to self, get one of those." He nods, gesturing to the outfit. "Maybe in, in silver? Glitz it up a little bit. It needs glitz."

 

The other En Dwi Gast looks unamused. Downright, he might say, furious. It's a strange expression to see on his own face, he doesn't even know how it would _feel_ to look so furious. He doesn't know how it would feel to look... much of anything, beyond either amused or unamused.

 

"What the hell are you doing?" He demands, striding forward.

 

The Grandmaster collapses down onto a very comfortable settee, stretching his arms across the back, spreading his legs. He looks up at his double with a raised eyebrow.

 

"What-- sorry, what the hell am _I_ doing? I mean, I'm just... dancing on through, I guess, just gliding along. Living. And I might, ah, I might ask what the hell _you_ were doing, coming into my universe. And looking, quite frankly, a little drab. Just a little. I like the hair, the makeup's not bad, but, uh-- well, like I said. It needs _glitz_."

 

"Glitz? Do you have any idea, I mean do you have any _idea_ what's just happened on your Earth?"

 

"I have very little interest in what happens on, uh, 'my' Earth. What's there for me?"

 

En Dwi Gast frowns down at him, as if this sentiment was somehow incomprehensible to him, and the Grandmaster smiles back up, bland and expectant.

 

"Loki."

 

The Grandmaster looks away. "I don't, uh, know what you're talking about, so..."

 

"Yes. You do. Because Loki, because he's _interesting_ , because in a long, long lifetime of boring repetition, he's a, a shapeshifting creature of pure _chaos_ , because he's the only thing that _stays_ interesting."

 

"And I should, uh, I mean, I should care about someone who would betray me? Leave me?" He gestures to the room. "Leave all this, think he's pulling a fast one on _me_? I should, I should care what planet he goes to and what trouble he gets into? I mean, _you_ , you make it sound like we should be in, in love with him or, uh, something. But no one gets to be special for eternity. Why do you know so much more than I do about 'my'-- 'my' Earth?"

 

"Sometimes it's, uh... you like to channel-surf, the, uh, the multiverse." En Dwi Gast shrugs. "Something to keep the boredom at bay. Although, uh, we mostly use it to... we mostly just see what, what kind of _parties_ I'm throwing in other universes."

 

"Is it, is it voyeurism, when it's just... yourself?" The Grandmaster asks. He'd considered browsing through universes to be about as boring as anything else, until the possibility of watching another version of himself hosting an orgy came up. The chance of even a mild surprise put it above just watching old recordings. There would be... variety. "Wait, so... you use your magic little, uh... interdimensional viewmaster to peep the, uh, _parties_ , where does Earth even, even come into things?"

 

"Loki." He repeats, and there's a hard edge to it.

 

"You're really hung up on this guy." The Grandmaster frowns right back-- irritated, not furious, irritated is part of his range of emotions, thank you very much. "Just, uh, what did he ever do for you, in your universe?"

 

"He makes eternity worth facing."

 

"Uh, disgusting." His frown deepens. "I'm not remotely interested in what happens on _Earth_ , so, so you can shop it to another dimension, you--"

 

And then, Loki's _there_ , after a moment's concentration on the other En Dwi Gast's part, pulled from whatever corner of the universe he'd occupied-- no. Pulled from... someplace _else_. He can tell, and he doesn't like it. He looks _haunted_ , shaky... a frightened animal, crouched on the floor between them. The Grandmaster's mouth hangs open a moment, he reaches a hand out to him, and the flare of anger he feels towards the other En Dwi Gast when Loki flinches from him is the biggest surprise yet. How dare he do this? How dare he come into another universe, and imagine that whatever kind of blissful relationship he shared with his own Loki was the benchmark by which the multiverse should be judged? How dare he be the one to bring Loki back from... from whatever fate the Grandmaster hadn't known about or cared to know? To summon him here like this from oblivion and act like he was doing himself a big favor?

 

"Lo-Lo..." He whispers, and reaches out again, and feels something he can't define at the cautious look with which he's regarded. Something unfamiliar, and unfamiliar is rare and good except in this case, when it's just terrible. He looks back up at the other En Dwi Gast, knowing now what it feels like to look so furious. Not irritated, _furious_. "You had no right."

 

"But you're happy to have him."

 

"I could have called him back at any time! You-- you had no, no _right_."

 

"And who ever gave _you_ the right to do... _anything_? Or do you just, just do it? Just do what feels good at the time, what keeps you, ah, entertained?" He challenges. It's fair, maybe, but it's not exactly welcome.

 

Loki scoots over to him at last, clinging to his leg instead of flinching away from his outstretched hand, a hand he now runs through thick, dark hair. He keeps casting confused looks between the two, and the Grandmaster doesn't exactly blame him for that.

 

"What... what's going _on_? What happened to me?"

 

"Don't worry about it." He murmurs, and he could _make_ him not worry about it, but he doesn't. He's not sure if it's callousness or kindness, not to. "You're here now, you're fine. Not even hurt a li'l bit, are you?"

 

He glances up at the other En Dwi Gast, glaring at the knowing look he sees on his face. His own face, if with a little less style in the hair and makeup department. A little less. Loki keeps looking back to him, which is also fair, maybe, because it's the other En Dwi Gast who brought him back to life, but he's not happy about that, either.

 

"Are there normally two of you?" Loki asks, still sounding fuzzy and lost.

 

"No. And there's, uh, not going to be. For much longer." He waves his double off. "He can see himself out. Why don't you, why don't you come up here?"

 

Why he should invite Loki up into his lap after everything, after everything... Why he should spare one moment for him, when he's moved on to other entertainments... But then, the other En Dwi Gast had a point, no one could maintain his interest the way Loki could, he was 'interesting' incarnate... Even when he left, it was interesting. Irritating. A little hurtful, maybe. But interesting. He gathers him in close, and he doesn't force him not to worry about how he died or why or where, or how he came back-- or why, another murky question best left unplumbed, but still. He doesn't force him not to worry, but he maybe sends just the suggestion of calm. Take it or leave it.

 

The Grandmaster glares over Loki's head at the other En Dwi Gast before him, that lithe body folded up small in his arms. Fragile, for a demi-god... but then, they were all fragile, when even an otherwise-immortal being could be killed...

 

"You're, uh, you're welcome." En Dwi Gast sneers at him. Sneers! Imagine, being so unrelentingly rude to yourself! "If you ever, if you're curious, about the-- aha, the sunny side of the street... well. Maybe we'll see you on the flip side."

 

"Yeah..." He drawls. "I, uh, I don't think so."

 

He winks, which is... galling. The sneer, and then the wink? Who does he think he is?

 

Oh. Right.

 

"It's never boring." He says, and then he arranges his portal, with some little gadget that seems more like a Collector thing. Well. Good for him, whatever it is and wherever he got it.

 

The Grandmaster rests his chin on the top of Loki's head.

 

"Glad to see the back of that guy, huh?" He remarks. Loki laughs, just one soft and silent puff of amusement and air against him, and the Grandmaster closes his eyes. "Well... he has his good points. He, uh... he's not bad to look at. Sure knows how to give a, a hostess gift, doesn't he? That outfit was sadly, sadly lacking in the... the _glitz_ department, but... you think four out of five stars?"

 

"I like black." Loki murmurs.

 

"Yeah. That's probably it." The Grandmaster sighs. If he was so in love with the idea of Loki and all, probably dressed to impress him, instead of just to be the most impressive in the room. Well.

 

There was always black with a little _sparkle_.


End file.
